Another strike

There is still confusion about the threatened April 1 truckers' strike here in the U.S. We'll keep an eye on the wire for more news about the rumblings from drivers who can't bear $4 per gallon diesel. Here is a story from Argentina about a strike there, as producers protest an export tax on agricultural commodities. From the BBC:

President Cristina Fernandez, in office since December, says the increased taxes on farm exports are justified.Protesters have been stopping lorries carrying farm produce and either turning them back or dumping their goods on the road.Speaking on national television, President Fernandez said the agricultural sector was one of the country's most profitable with global demand growing for Argentine beef, corn, wheat and soybeans."I'm not going to submit to extortion. I understand the industry's interests but I want them to know that I'm the president for all Argentines," she said, making it clear there would be no talks while the farmers' strike continued. Soon after her address, demonstrators in Buenos Aires and other cities gathered on the streets to stage pot-banging protests."This is a pretty ugly wake-up call for the government after just a few months in power," protesters Hector Bernardino told Reuters.He said middle-class Argentines, like the farmers, were tired of taxes and double-digit inflation.

Fresh Talk Country Count

Another gee-whiz look into Fresh Talk readership, this time by country....

12,517 words

That how many words it took the Department of Homeland Security to explain its supplemental proposed rule on "Safe-Harbor Procedures for Employers Who Receive a No-Match Letter: Clarification; Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis AGENCY: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, DHS"

Find the document, published today, here. Here is the positively terse summary graph:

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is proposing to amend its regulations that provide a ``safe harbor'' from liability under section 274A of the Immigration and Nationality Act for employers who follow certain procedures after receiving a notice--from the Social Security Administration (SSA), called a ``no-match letter,'' or from DHS, called a ``notice of suspect document''--that casts doubt on the employment eligibility of their employees. The prior final rule was published on August 15, 2007 (the August 2007 Final Rule). Implementation of that rule was preliminarily enjoined by the United States District Court for the Northern District of California on October 10, 2007. The district court based its preliminary injunction on three findings. This supplemental proposed rule clarifies certain aspects of the August 2007 Final Rule and responds to the three findings underlying the district court's injunction.


TK: Here is a decidedly more long-winded passage about how the DHS tried to evaluate the impact on small businesses. From the proposed rule:

DHS requested information from SSA to assist in better identifying the number of small entities that could be expected to establish safe- harbor procedures. Specifically, DHS requested that SSA provide the names and addresses of the companies already identified by SSA in its preparation to release no-match letters in September 2007. This raw data would have permitted DHS to conduct research to determine the North American Industry Classification System industry to which the specific companies belonged, to research the annual revenue and/or the number of employees of these companies through standard sources, and thus to apply the appropriate small business size standards. With these analyses, DHS anticipated that it would be able to provide a rough estimate of the number of employers expected to receive a no-match letter that met the SBA's definitions of small businesses. However, SSA informed DHS that it was unable to provide DHS with the names and addresses of the employers expected to receive a no-match letter, citing the general legal restrictions on disclosure of taxpayer return information under section 6103 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 26 U.S.C. 6103. DHS also approached the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the Small Business Administration, Office of Advocacy, to seek any data that these agencies might be able to provide, and to consult about the analysis to be included in this IRFA. GAO supplied some additional data, but SBA informed DHS that it had no data--other than general small business census data--that was relevant to this rulemaking and that could assist in our analysis for purposes of this IRFA. Consequently, DHS does not have the data necessary to determine the precise number of small entities expected to receive a no-match letter. Nevertheless, SSA was able to provide some general information. SSA provided a table showing a distribution of the number of employers that were slated to receive a no-match letter for Tax Year 2006, according to the number of Form W-2s filed by the employer.


TK: Whew! I'm glad we have that straight.

Dole on the industry

A bellwether for the industry, Dole Food Co. is a market leader in many produce categories. Although the company is privately held, it does file an annual 10-K report with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Find the 2007 10-K report from Dole here. Apart from what the company says about itself and its performance, I found it interesting to read what the annual report says about the industry. From the report:

The worldwide fresh produce industry enjoys consistent underlying demand and favorable growth dynamics. In recent years, the market for fresh produce has increased faster than the rate of population growth, supported by ongoing trends including greater consumer demand for healthy, fresh and convenient foods, increased retailer square footage devoted to produce, and greater emphasis on fresh produce as a differentiating factor in attracting customers. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, worldwide produce production grew 3.6% per annum from 814 million metric tons in 1990 to an estimated 1.4 billion in 2005.

Health-conscious consumers are driving much of the growth in demand for fresh produce. Over the past several decades, the benefits of natural, preservative-free foods have become an increasingly significant element of the public dialogue on health and nutrition. As a result, consumption of fresh fruit and vegetables has markedly increased. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Americans consumed 40 more pounds of fresh fruit and vegetables per capita in 2005 than they did in 1987. Consumers are also consuming more organic foods. Specifically, organic produce sales grew 11% to $5.4 billion in 2006, according to the Organic Trade Association and represented 5.5% of total retail produce sales in the U.S.

Food manufacturers have responded to consumer demand for convenient, ready-to-eat products with new product introductions and packaging innovations in segments such as fresh-cut fruit and vegetables and ready-to-eat salads, contributing to industry growth.

The North American packaged fruit industry is experiencing stable growth, driven by consumer demand for healthy snacking options. FRUIT BOWLS® in plastic cups, introduced by Dole in 1998, and other innovative packaging items have steadily displaced the canned alternative. These new products have spurred overall growth in the packaged fruit category, while the consumption of traditional canned fruit has declined as consumers opt for fresh products and more innovative packaging.
Retail consolidation and the growing importance of food to mass merchandisers are major factors affecting the food manufacturing and fresh produce industries. As food retailers have grown and expanded, they have sought to increase profitability through value-added product offerings and in-store services. The higher margins of the fresh produce category are also attractive to retailers. As a result, some retailers are reducing their dry goods sections of the store, in favor of expanding fresh and chilled items, offering new product and merchandising opportunities for packaged fruit. Fully integrated produce companies, such as Dole, are well positioned to meet the needs of large retailers through the delivery of consistent, high-quality produce, reliable service, competitive pricing and innovative products. In addition, these companies including Dole have sought to strengthen relationships with leading retailers through value-added services such as banana ripening and distribution, category management, branding initiatives and establishment of long-term supply agreements.

Unknown and hard in SC

Here is more coverage of Fresh & Easy stores in Southern California, offering some native insights:

Fresh & Easy's mantra seems to be that of "neighborhood." They stress that healthy food should be available where you live, which is a plea more often than not ignored by developers in lower-income areas, like in South Central LA (where last fall it was easier to buy a gun than some fruit & veggies), who finally got their Fresh & Easy in early February. If the concept is localized, it's clear why advertising to a broader customer base would be contrary to their goals, however, not bringing in more shoppers might mean they aren't making bucks.

Back in December, just a few weeks after their stores began opening in California, CNN declared that the outlook wasn't good for the chain:

Despite all the hype, all the planning, and all the expertise of Tesco's management team, it's difficult, at least at this moment, to know if Tesco's California dream will become a reality. Even if the concept becomes a roaring success, as some bullish analysts believe, the journey -- like most in Los Angeles -- will be anything but easy.

Frankly, it seems Fresh & Easy is less "easy" than the name suggests, unless it's in your neck of the woods and you've taken the time to figure out what you can get there. Can they sustain their stores, and continue to open more, as planned? According to CNN, early projections and analysis indicate that by "February 2009, Tesco plans to have 200 stores open. And by 2011, Fresh & Easy could easily have $4 billion in sales from 500 stores."

Easily? Hmm...Have you been to your neighborhood F&E?

In praise of bananas

It was great to see this coverage of bananas in The Toronto Star. "Bananas still cost peanuts, even with prices rising." Amen to that, and we can all appreciate the yellow fruit because it is so kind to our grocery budget. From the story by Cynthia David:

Yes, we have bananas, but you may notice a lot more dark green ones on grocer's shelves along with higher prices.

A cool winter in Central America, flooding in Ecuador and increased demand in Europe are creating a shortage in North America and forcing stores to rush supplies to market greener than usual, says local banana man Ron Chiovitti.

At the same time, transportation costs are skyrocketing, which explains why the price has shot up by 10 to 20 cents a pound.

"Our market has already moved up 10 cents," says Chiovitti, 61, North America's largest importer and distributor of bananas. But even if our favourite fruit rises to 69 cents a pound, it's still the best buy in the produce department.

"Even local apples cost more than a buck a pound," says the former drummer whose Italian great-grandfather began peddling bananas on Toronto streets in the early 1900s. "At three to a pound, a banana might cost you 20 cents each."

Most bananas are bought on impulse and we often don't even notice the price, Chiovitti adds. "If they look nice and they're the right colour, you're going to buy them."

Though his organic banana business is growing 10 per cent a year in volume, he says it's driven by price rather than conscience. If regular bananas are 49 cents and organics 99 cents a pound, consumers will buy a regular bunch. But if regular bananas are 69 and organics 79, he sells more organics.

In a typical week, Chiovitti trucks up to 3.5 million pounds of boxed bananas into southern Ontario from U.S. ports, then ripens them for four to five days in the company's 50 ripening rooms at its Etobicoke headquarters and at the Ontario Food Terminal.

Though he estimates that Canadians eat more than 35 pounds of the super-nutritious fruit a year, banana barons such as Dole and Del Monte have big plans to encourage us to eat even more.

Bunches of Chiquita bananas are already appearing beside the checkout in some local supermarkets. If we follow the U.S. lead, by the end of the year we should see single ripe bananas for sale in high-end coffee shops and fast-food chains.

Will Canadians buy a 99-cent banana with their $3.50 latte?

"We'll see!" says Chiovitti, whose bedside reading includes the current bestseller The Fate of the Fruit That Changed the World by Dan Koeppel.